Instagram Friendship Scam Costs Pune Women Rs 6 Lakh; Uttam Nagar police register case 

By: Pune Pulse

October 24, 2023

Pune: A Pune woman has lost Rs 6 Lakh in a social media cyber fraud. Fraudsters swindled her by claiming that she had received a gift & needed to pay customs fees to receive the gift.

Speaking to Pune Pulse, Kiran Balwadkar, Police Inspector, Uttam Nagar Police Station said, “Cyber fraud has happened with the plaintiff where she was lured into winning a gift for which she needs to pay customs charges. The plaintiff had befriended a stranger on Instagram in February 2022. Since then, the fraudster & the plaintiff have been in constant touch through Instagram. After contacting her, the fraudster had told her that she had won an expensive gift & would have to pay customs charges to receive it. Due to this, the plaintiff started sending money. Thus, from February 2022 till this year, the woman sent a total of Rs 6 Lakh to the cyber fraudster. However, she didn’t receive the gift. Realizing that she has been duped, the woman registered a case with Uttam Nagar Police.”

As per further information from Balwadkar, a case has been registered at Uttam Nagar Police Station under Section 419, 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) & relevant sections of the IT Act. Further investigation is going on.

Shreyas Vange